


Sinners and Saints

by MsFaust



Series: Inky Tales [199]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Fluff, Good AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 18:49:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18078959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: Henry wasn’t always comfortable with the idea of a cartoon starring a demon.





	Sinners and Saints

**Author's Note:**

> I was ruminating on the concept of the ‘studio’ being a mental landscape, and the monsters ‘inner demons’ in a psychological sense. Then I thought of a way to use it in a good AU.

One afternoon in mid-March, Bendy and Joey were doing some spring cleaning. They had gotten about a quarter of the way through the attic when the doorbell rang. As Joey went to answer it, Bendy was about to sit down on top of an old steamer trunk when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye—a small book with a sepia cover lying behind the trunk.  
  
“Hmm? What’s this?”  
  
Picking up the book, Bendy opened it. Inside, he found it was some sort of diary, and judging from the handwriting, it belonged to Henry.  
  
_February 10th_  
  
I really don’t know what to do about Joey’s idea for the main character of our cartoon. True, the rules about what can go into a cartoon have changed since the forties, but having a demon as the main character? Mom and Dad say that God accepts everyone, yet I can’t help but feel worried about Joey. He’s obviously not concerned about what will happen to his soul—he wouldn’t have gotten into the occult if he were. There’s a reason Aunt Eva doesn’t know I’m friends with him.  
  
Bendy made a confused face. This didn’t sound like the Henry he knew. Henry didn’t have any problem with him being a demon, to say nothing about the stuff Joey was into. Flipping forward, he read another entry.  
  
_April 18th_  
  
Another nightmare last night. This time, there was this priest wearing a demon mask, and he tried to sacrifice me to this horrible monster. It killed him instead, and I was able to escape, but I ended up chased by a cartoon angel with a half-melted face. What’s worse, she sounded like Aunt Eva, ranting about how I was a sinner and was going to hell.  
  
Mom and Dad are really worried. They say if I keep having nightmares, they’ll send me to a shrink. I thought those were for crazy people.  
  
“What have you got there, Bendy?” Joey had returned, accompanied by Henry.  
  
“Oh, uh...” Bendy looked nervous as he held out the book. “I found this behind that trunk.”  
  
Taking the book, Henry briefly looked it over, then let out a chuckle.  
  
”One of my old journals,” he said. “I haven’t seen this thing in ages.”  
  
”You were what, in high school when you wrote in that?” Joey asked.  
  
Standing atop the trunk to get a better look, Bendy tilted his head. “Are you sure that’s yours? It sounds more like it was written by one of those people who say the show is a bad influence.”  
  
“Well, you’re not that far off,” admitted Henry. “My family were very devout Christians. We attended church almost every Sunday, save for a few times when something got in the way. But while Mom and Dad were of the ‘God loves everyone’ persuasion, my aunt Eva was more the fire-and-brimstone type. She’d go on and on about how the Devil was corrupting the world and poisoning people’s minds.”  
  
“Probably wouldn’t have liked the show,” Bendy said.  
  
“Definitely not,” Joey agreed. “Luckily, I was able to bring Henry around. Remember those books I keep on the shelf next to the light switch in my room?”  
  
Bendy nodded. Most of them were on what Satanists actually believed, while the exception was an analysis of Purgatorio. Joey often brought them out when dealing with more skeptical staff members.  
  
“And it didn’t hurt his case that Aunt Eva was _not_ a good person.” Henry frowned, clearly recalling something nasty.  
  
Not wanting to bring up any more memories of that woman, Joey hastily changed the subject. “I was going to wait to tell you, Bendy, but guess what?”  
  
Bendy perked up. “What?”  
  
”You’re not going to be the only Toon in the studio much longer.”

**Author's Note:**

> In case you’re wondering, this happens the day before Boris is brought to life.


End file.
